Origins 1 BOOM Featured Reviews 

“Origins” #1

By | November 5th, 2020
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

The first installment of “Origins,” a six part limited series from BOOM! Studios based on a story from Joseph Oxford (Me + Her), Lee Toland Krieger (The Age of Adaline), and Arash Amel (A Private War), and penned by Clay McLeod Chapman, focuses on the lone human survivor (?) of a post apocalyptic earth. The question mark there is because it’s unclear if David, our human protagonist, is a truly a survivor, reborn entity, progenitor of disaster, or something else. Time and identity get tricky in this story, which pits humankind against machine, nature, and artificial intelligence — with some intersecting alliances, of course. “Origins” #1 is a visually strong piece of sci-fi fiction, and while its story has us invested for now, it’s not without its road bumps.

Cover by Jakub Rebelka

“Origins” #1
Written by Clay McLeod Chapman
Illustrated by Jakub Rebelka
Colored by Patricio Delpeche
Lettered by Jim Campbell

A thousand years after humans are killed off by artificial intelligence, one man is brought back to life — David Adams, who created the technology that destroyed his people. Now with the help of the android Chloe who revived him, David will try to restore humanity — and stop the AI overlords he created.

“Origins” #1 opens with a gorgeous cinematic intro sequence that’s light on exposition but high on visuals. In these eight pages, we see New York City if you subtracted the humans and added lush foliage and creeping vines. Rebelka does a wonderful job, showing off full page splashes of a moldering statue of liberty, dilapidated bridges, and overgrown subway stations. There’s a quiet, tasteful repose to these scenes that still include a twinge of macabre. Plant life grows from the space between the bones of human skeletons as they rest against a tree, fungus sprouts from the clothing of long deceased train riders — that sort of thing. The final set piece, David’s home base of The Museum of Natural History, is icing on the cake, as Rebelka makes good use of the the juxtaposition between a wild world outside of the museum, and the iconic biome displays on its inside. Delpeche also pulls his weight in the color department, giving the world of “Origins” #1 a hazy, blue green hue. This world certainly feels untamed and unhuman. These scenes also let the audience know what flavor of apocalypse this is. The end of the world in “Origins” #1 isn’t as wacky or bold as it is in Undiscovered Country or We Live, and feels quieter — but still deadly, as evidenced by the megafauna.

While the intro sequence in “Origins” #1 is visually strong, there are certainly some loose ends from a narrative perspective. A lot of the dialogue between David and his AI handler, Chloe, describes the story of David’s birth in this new world. The conversation gets a bit circular, with a lot of poetic language but not as much substance as we’d like. It’s not that the writing is weak, it’s more that it’s a bit generic, focusing on a lot of “chosen one” rhetoric. It’s an almost unavoidable trope when it comes to “lone survivor in an apocalypse” stories, but laying it on thick before we even meet the protagonist feels a bit heavy handed.

Additionally, once we get into the meat of “Origins” #1, two things become apparent: there’s a lot of conflict in this story, but as audience members we’re really unsure what the inter-character conflicts are about. The main hitch seems to be that during a foraging trip through ravaged New York City, David triggered a trap, and in doing so “The Network” discovered him. Then, he and Chloe argue because David wants to “Begin the Upload,” a ritual we assume, from the way they’re talking, is risky business. Of course, we don’t know what “The Network” is (omnipotent cyber presence? Nanobot horde?), nor what “The Upload” actually does. This is the rare case where a little more exposition would go a long way. Comic creators always have to balance burying the lede to generate reader buy-in with describing a clear conflict. In the case of “Origins” #1, it’s clear that the stakes are high, but the consequences of success or failure are unknown. Because of that, it’s hard to feel super invested in David or Chloe, and the pacing feels a little rushed.

It’s worth reminding ourselves that this series was originally supposed to be a graphic novel and not a limited series, so its possible Chapman and the rest of the creative team had to cut some corners to get a full story in six issues. We’re hoping that “Origins” can find its footing in the next few installments, as the world is absolutely gorgeous. While the characters in “Origins” #1 don’t feel fully fleshed out, we’re hoping that the next issues give them more room to breathe.

Final Verdict: 7.3. Anchored by beautiful art and clever set pieces, “Origins” #1 has some room to grow before its full potential is realized.


Kobi Bordoley

comic reviews, as a treat.

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